Judgement day for North-East clubs THE countdown to one of the biggest footballing weekends in living memory has begun, with police, landlords and fans sweating over the future of the North-East’s big three.

With Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough facing the humiliating and financially disastrous prospect of relegation on the final day of the Premier League season, Survival Sunday could hardly be more crucial.

Tens of thousands of fans are waiting with fingers crossed to see if their club can escape the drop, while police are preparing to deal with any violence that may erupt after the final whistle.

Police leave has been cancelled and dozens of extra officers have been drafted in as the region’s forces prepare to react to any signs of trouble.

Northumbria Police, who will take charge of Sunderland’s home game with Chelsea, are mounting a forcewide operation “to ensure any high spirits do not get out of hand”, while Durham Police have put extra response teams on standby.

Pub bosses have been asked not to screen multiple matches in case it leads to clashes between rival fans and are being urged to refuse entry to fans wearing football shirts after 8pm.

The police advice came on the day six hooligans were given jail sentences for their part in a street fight in Darlington.

Trouble flared in the town’s Market Square between Darlington and St Mirren supporters last summer.

Yesterday, ten men were sentenced for their part in the disturbance.

On and off the pitch, tomorrow’s fixtures will have huge consequences for the clubs and the region.

As well as bragging rights, hundreds of millions of pounds are at stake, with industry experts predicting relegation to the Championship could inflict long-term damage.

Yesterday, all three managers tried to sound upbeat about their team’s prospects.

Alan Shearer said he was “totally convinced” his Newcastle side would avoid relegation, while Sunderland’s Ricky Sbragia said he was confident the Black Cats would survive.

Gareth Southgate admitted Middlesbrough were “the long shot” to stay up, but called on his team to “go out and give this one last crack”.

Relegation could lead to star names making for the exits, a slump in ticket, corporate boxes and sponsorship income, and wage bills having to be cut. Fans voiced their fears last night.

Neil Noades, 31, of Bishop Middleham, a lifelong Newcastle fan, said: “Shearer coming in was just too little too late. I will be gutted if we go down, but we have had long enough to get used to the idea.”

Sunderland supporter Lee Crabtree, 30, said: “I think Boro and Hull will go down and I would like to see Newcastle stay up so we can look forward to the derby matches next season.”

His optimism was not shared by Boro season ticketholder Steven Marshall, 37, who said: “We need a small miracle, but I cannot see it happening.”

Dr Rory Miller, from the Football Research Unit at Liverpool University, said Newcastle have the most to fear from relegation.

He said: “Clearly, Mike Ashley would like to sell the club, but if they are relegated, he would take a huge loss on what he originally paid.

“The wage bill, I assume, is pretty high and they will have to offload players. The real question for Newcastle is: what will the reaction of the fans be?

“Sunderland have been a yo-yo club for ten years, so I suspect they are more geared up to safeguard themselves. “Middlesbrough have got Steve Gibson behind them and I would guess they have been cautious in drawing up players’ contracts.”

Sunderland are the only one of the three with a home game, as Newcastle travel to Aston Villa and Middlesbrough go to West Ham.

Sunderland also face the most straightforward survival equation – if the Black Cats defeat Chelsea, they will stay up. Newcastle fans will be listening out for news from the Stadium of Light and from Hull City’s match against Manchester United.

Middlesbrough must record a big win and hope results elsewhere go their way. North-East bookmaker Pagebet makes Sunderland the favourites to stay up, offering odds of 1-22. Newcastle are 13-8 to avoid the drop, with Middlesbrough the outsiders at 11-1.

Steve Cookson, from Pagebet, said the company had taken bets from people backing their team’s opposition, as fans seek to cushion potential sporting losses with a financial windfall.

With all fixtures kicking off tomorrow at 4pm, the region’s football fans should know their fate by 6pm.

Until then, anyone with so much as a passing interest will hold their breath.